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CM Mamata to reach Delhi on March 8 to meet PM on debt waiver

The chief minister on Wednesday told reporters at the state secretariat that she would lead a 36-38 member delegation, which would comprise, among others, Finance Minister Amit Mitra and Chief Secretary Sanjay Mitra.

“We have waited for over three-and-a-half years and had given a test of our patience. Already we paid about Rs 1 lakh crore debt so far. Now we are going to Delhi to secure our rights,” she said. On February 25, Banerjee had written to the Prime Minister seeking an appointment urging him to consider the debt waiver immediately. “We have long been pursuing with the central government for a waiver of the huge debt burden left upon us by the previous government in West Bengal. We have waited for more than three-and-a-half years with no results,” Banerjee said.

She said the deduction of about Rs 28,000 crore every year towards repayment of loans taken by the previous government has been increasing. “No other state in the country is as ‘debt-stressed’ as West Bengal because of the gross misrule of the previous Left Front government for 34 long years. Our state needs immediate relief from the debt burden so that growth and development efforts continue unhindered,” she said.

Mamata non-committal on whether Teesta will figure in talks with PM

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said she had apprised the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj about the outcome of her recent Bangladesh visit. Mamata, who will leave for Delhi on March 8 to meet the Prime Minister to discuss the debt waiver issue, did not say if the Teesta issue would figure in the talks with Modi when reporters asked her about it.

She said, “After my recent visit to Bangladesh, I have apprised the PM and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj of the details about the Teesta Water issue and Indo-Bangla relations.”

“In my letter to the two leaders I have also said that we need improved bilateral relation between the two countries,” she said. The visit will take place soon after Banerjee’s Dhaka visit in February during which she promised to cooperate for an amicable Teesta water accord and a land border agreement.
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